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Leaker: Foldable 'iPhone Ultra' Will Feature Liquid Metal Hinge

Taq'aix said:
Funny how it’s always "the leaker known as Fixed Focus Digital’” but never “the leaker known as ‘Mark Gurman.’”

Apparently some leakers graduate into prophets.
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I mean, there is a pretty big difference there.
Mark Gurman, like him or not, actually works for a journal, gets paid for what he does, has an entire multi billion dollar company backing him.
Meanwhile, all of the focus digitals are just random social media accounts that happen to get info slipped to them through the supply chain. That’s one of the reasons you almost never get software leaks from these types of accounts, only from places like the information or Bloomberg, whose journalist is Mark Gurman.
 
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Lounge vibes 05 said:
Hasn’t all of the latest reporting said that the foldable iPhone is basically John Ternus’ baby?
Meanwhile, Tim Cook has been focused on mostly the glasses?
That’s what all of the recent reports have all said.
And considering that he’s been the hardware chief for the last almost decade, it’s likely that his influence is all over the foldable in every aspect.
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Exactly. He has way more influence on this device than Cook would even without the transition. They also don't transition CEO's over night. Ternus has been in the day to day mix for at least 12-18 months.
 
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HuskerNKS said:
Exactly. He has way more influence on this device than Cook would even without the transition. They also don't transition CEO's over night. Ternus has been in the day to day mix for at least 12-18 months.
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Absolutely, anyone paying attention could have seen it coming from a mile away.
Both the iPhone Air and MacBook Neo launches were the Ternus show, he lead the teams that made them, he partially presented them, he did almost every single interview about them…
Anyone remember when the iPhone Air was presented and Apple was having journalists tried to bend it to prove how rigid and strong it was? Yeah, that was all Ternus.
 
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gummybear2026 said:
The liquid hinge is going to be a major point of failure given how much the device will be opened and closed. Not a device for me but it should sell well.
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Definitely not buying generation 1 of this product. Rather spend money on the 20th anniversary iPhone XX instead 📱
 
mikebenton said:
I'm interested, but this is not going to be a phone I can purchase without having an opportunity to put hands on it first. Also, not sure how I feel about lack of FaceID or inferior cameras. The concept is great, but for $2k I think I'll just stick to a Pro device and iPad. Maybe v2 will be better.
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I think we're all going to line up in the Apple Store to see and play with the fold. Of course we would!
Squuiid said:
Not for me, but nice to see something new.
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It "might" be for me, and yes is really is very nice to see something new!
mattopotamus said:
Agreed. It has to be seen in person. I am currently not a fan of foldables because of the feel in hand and the crease.
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And this is why it's so important that we get to see how Apple decides to address those (and a lot more) issues.
Will Co said:
Yeah - lack of FaceID is a deal breaker for me. I wouldn't want to revert back to a mobile device that's highly desirable to thieves and other ne'er-do-wells without some solid security that I can unlock in a glance without even really thinking about it.
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How does a lockable mobile device be "highly desirable to thieves" other than via spare parts?
Will Co said:
If the rumours are correct, and there's no FaceID, then I'll watch and wait to see how the hinge thing develops and what people think about the form factor. Maybe V2. But if there is a FaceID, and the price is right, I might be tempted: my phone is getting ready for an update. My iPad is very ready for an update....
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I think your strategy is sound.
applicious84 said:
Mercury is the only liquid metal I know of, but I remember being told it's not good to get on your skin
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No it's not. It's also not good to eat or drink!
gummybear2026 said:
The liquid hinge is going to be a major point of failure...
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We don't know that for sure. We need to see how Apple addresses the built-in limitaitons.
dannyyankou said:
Liquidmetal isn’t malleable until you reach 760°F. So unless you put it in a pizza oven, I’m not concerned about durability.
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You can buy a pizza oven for under $300 today!
iMean said:
So, ai we already have. Now liquid metal. What else is missing for the T1000?
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That chip. That's what we're missing. And Nvidia is trying like the dickens to make it!
VMukhtarov said:
We already have liquid kernel_task and WindowServer, so why not?
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There's also a thing called "Liquid Audio". Actually, there are a bunch of things that are (or were) called "Liquid" or "Liquid Audio", or something similar.. Here are a few:

  • Liquid Audio - A digital music format from the late 90s, designed to compete with MP3. It used to trade under the ticker symbol "LQID". At its IPO in July 1999, it tripled from its initial share price of $15 all the way up to $48 before closing at $36.56. But in subsequent months and years, it crashed and burned from too many problems internal and external, and was completely gone by 2003.
  • Liquid Audio - A car stereo store (chain?) in Midland, Texas. Tag Line, "Best audio business in the permian basin!" Or maybe that was just the subject line for a local review, lol!
  • Liquid HiFi - A home audio store (Do we still have those? Yes we do!)
  • Liquid Audio Inc. - A musical instrument store in Blackwood, NJ, who is also an Amazon seller of music instruments and DJ equipment.
  • Focusrite makes (or used to make) a line of audio interfaces with things called "Liquid technology" to allow for hardware emulations of vintage EQs, compressors, preamps, reverbs, and more.
 
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I hope they’ve cracked their no crease goal or at least set expectations at the launch.

Otherwise #creasegate 🙄
 
Let's pray to our lord and savior it doesn't leak out all the precious Liquid Metal from its hinges.
 
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Looks interesting for a public beta.

The whole fold phone form factor isn't for me so it's a pass just because, well. It isn't for me. A lot of people will buy it, like it, think it's the Bee's Knees. Some people will inevitably crap on it because it's Apple, and that's their part in the grand scheme.

They will sell out of the initial run of them. There's enough demand from curiosity, FOMO, and wanting to be the first person to have something.

First generation will have issues with the hinge and the screen. No way around it. You can't 100% engineer out real world use. There will be software issues at launch. More than expected because Apple loves software problems these days.

Second generation will work out most of the hinge and screen issues. Add in a feature like MagSafe, or by then FaceID will be under the screen in super slim form somehow and they will add that in at the same time the island disappears.

Third generation. If it last that long, will bring the full feature set and complete durability of the folding feature. By then it'll either be a raving success or a flop. There's just no way to tell.

The world isn't screaming out in need for a folding iPhone so I'm not sure I see the long term demand for it. I see an iPhone Mini, Air, or ProVision future for this device.
 
Maybe that Liquid Metal Technologies stock I bought years ago will finally pay off! Let me see.... Ummm.... It seems we're up to 15 cents a share now. I guess that means I'm only down $60 now. 🤣
 
Lounge vibes 05 said:
Absolutely, anyone paying attention could have seen it coming from a mile away.
Both the iPhone Air and MacBook Neo launches were the Ternus show, he lead the teams that made them, he partially presented them, he did almost every single interview about them…
Anyone remember when the iPhone Air was presented and Apple was having journalists tried to bend it to prove how rigid and strong it was? Yeah, that was all Ternus.
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People will rag on the iPhone Air, but I think it's a great product for a specific type of customer. It's a beautiful device and the thinness is ridiculous. It's made for people that don't need extreme battery life or have the need to take photographer level photos.

The MacBook Neo only has one design flaw... The lack of a backlit keyboard. But otherwise, it's a great product.

I'm hoping the iPhone Fold (or whatever the name is going to be) exceeds expectations and proves everyone wrong.
 
satchmo said:
I hope they’ve cracked their no crease goal or at least set expectations at the launch.

Otherwise #creasegate 🙄
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Who is "they"? Gurman, Kuo and the gang? Or are you referring to Apple who has not said anything about this in public?
 
Will watch the first few generations (actually I waited 10 generation of Apple Watches before getting APU2) and see if it is practical and glitch free like crease, stability, usability, weight, battery life and better use cases that really matters than iPhone Pro Max then decide based on the price. If the Camera is not better than iPhone Pro Max, then I may not even consider it.
 
Hopefully the hinge and the device as a whole will be very durable. Repairs will be very expensive. Looking forward to seeing the foldable.
 
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Lunarman25 said:
Isn’t all metal liquid at a certain temperature?
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The term refers to metal that's cooled very rapidly from its molten state, which allows its atoms to remain in an amorphous configuration instead of forming into a rigid crystalline lattice, which is more subject to cracking under stress. It contains a mix of various metals with differently-sized atoms like zirconium, titanium, copper, and nickel which helps it to cool amorphously. It's also somewhat elastic, kind of like spring metal, which further increases its strength compared to regular, crystalline metal.
 
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